Aromatics hydrogenation with a new class of metal oxides

ABSTRACT

The present invention is directed toward a highly active aromatics hydrogenation catalyst and its use. The catalyst composition is prepared by: 
     (a) decomposing a catalyst precursor selected from the group consisting of metal amine molybdates, metal amine tungstates and mixtures thereof, wherein said metal amine catalyst precursor has the general formula 
     
         ML(Mo.sub.y W.sub.1-y O.sub.4)a 
    
      where M is Cr and/or one or more divalent promoter metals selected from the group consisting of Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Cu and Zn; L is one or more neutral nitrogen containing ligands at least one of which is a chelating polydentate ligand; 0≦y≦1; and a=1 for non-chromium containing catalysts and wherein 0.5≦a≦3 for chromium containing catalysts, at a temperature of about 200° to about 400° C. in an inert atmosphere; and 
     (b) reducing at a temperature of about 300° to about 450° C. said metal amine catalyst precursor to form a catalyst. The catalyst as prepared above may be used in an aromatics hydrogenation process. The invention is further directed to the use of such catalysts in aromatics hydrogenation processes.

This is a Continuation-in-Part of U.S. Ser. No. 245,180 filed May 17,1994 now abandoned which is based on Patent Memorandum 93CL-026.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is directed to a new class of hydrotreatingcatalysts and their use in an aromatics hydrogenation process.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Aromatics hydrogenation is an integral part of commercialhydroprocessing processes which are becoming increasingly important inthe face of mounting public concern over the environment and decliningcrude quality.

The need for highly active aromatics hydrogenation catalysts isparticularly pressing because high processing temperatures arethermodynamically unfavorable and high pressures require undesirablylarge capital expenditures. Therefore, tremendous efforts are beingexpended on the development of new and improved aromatics hydrogenationcatalysts.

Conventional metal-based catalysts are active for aromaticshydrogenation, however, they are intolerant of any sulfur compounds andare also very costly. Conventional supported metal sulfide hydrotreatingcatalysts, which were designed primarily for heteroatom removal, aresulfur tolerant but are far less active than metal-based catalysts.

Hence, there remains a need to find a highly active sulfur tolerantcatalyst for aromatics hydrogenation processes.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is directed toward a highly active aromaticshydrogenation catalyst and its use. The catalyst composition is preparedby:

(a) decomposing, in the absence of sulfur, a catalyst precursor selectedfrom the group consisting of metal amine molybdates, metal aminetungstates and mixtures thereof, wherein said metal amine catalystprecursor has the general formula

    ML(Mo.sub.y W.sub.1-y O.sub.4)a

where M is Cr and/or one or more divalent promoter metals selected fromthe group consisting of Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Cu and Zn; L is one or moreneutral nitrogen-containing ligands at least one of which is a chelatingpolydentate ligand; 0≦y≦1; and a=1 for non-chromium containing catalystsand wherein 0.5≦a≦3 for chromium containing catalysts, at a temperatureof about 200° to about 400° C. in an inert atmosphere

(b) reducing at a temperature of about 300° to about 450° C. said metalamine catalyst precursor to form a catalyst.

The catalyst as prepared above may be used in an aromatics hydrogenationprocess.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The preparation of the metal amine molybdate or tungstate catalystprecursors used in this work has been detailed in U.S. Pat. Nos.4,595,672, 4,831,002 and 4,902,404 herein incorporated by reference. Thecatalyst of the instant invention can be derived from two types ofprecursors. In one case, the catalyst is derived from a precursorrepresented by ML (Mo_(y) W_(1-y) O₄)a where M is Cr and/or one or moredivalent promoter metals selected from the group consisting of Mn, Fe,Co, Ni, Cu and Zn; L is one or more neutral, nitrogen-containing ligandsat least one of which is a chelating polydentate ligand; 0≦y≦1; and a=1when Cr is not one of the metals represented by M, 0.5≦a≦3 or morepreferably 0.8≦a≦2 when Cr is one of the metals represented by M orwithout another promoter metal.

Preferably, M will be selected from the group consisting of: (a) Ni, Co,Fe and mixtures thereof, and (b) mixtures of (a) with Zn, Cu, Mn, andCr. Still more preferably, M will be selected from the group consistingof Fe, Mn, Ni, Co, Cr and mixtures thereof. Thus, the promoter metal maybe a single metal such as Co, in which case the precursor will have theformula (CoL) (Mo_(y) W_(1-y) O₄). Alternatively the promoter metal maybe a mixture of two, three, four, five, or even six promoter metals. Forthe case of two promoter metals, such as Ni and Co, the precursor willhave the formula (Ni_(b) Co_(1-b))L!(Mo_(y) W_(1-y) O₄) where 0≦b≦1, andso on for the case where 3, 4, 5 or 6 promoter metals are present. Theprecursor may be a self-promoted molybdate, tungstate or combinationsthereof. If it is a molybdate, then y will have a value of 1.Alternatively, if the precursor is tungstate, y will be zero.

The ligand L, will generally have a denticity of six and will be one ormore neutral, nitrogen-containing ligands wherein at least one of saidligands, is a multi-dentate chelating ligand which chelates the promotermetal to form a chelated promoter metal cation ML!²⁺. Thus, thecatalytic metal oxide anion (Mo_(y) W_(1-y) O)²⁻ will be ionically boundto the chelated promoter metal cation ML!²⁺. By neutral is meant thatthe ligand itself does not have a charge.

Those skilled in the art know that the term "ligand" is used todesignate functional coordinating groups which have one or more pairs ofelectrons available for the formation of coordinate bonds. Ligands thatcan form more than one bond with a metal ion are called polydentatewhile ligands that can form only one bond with a metal ion are calledmonodentate. Monodentate ligands are not capable of forming chelates.Hence, if one uses one or more species of monodentate ligands in theprecursor molecule, then one must also use at least one polydentatechelating ligand. Preferably, L will be one or more polydentatechelating ligands. The denticity of the ligand L will generally be six,because the promoter metal cations prefer six-fold coordination. Hence,if more than one species of ligand is employed in the precursormolecule, the denticity of the ligand species will usually add up tosix. It should be understood that it is possible for ligand L to have atotal denticity of less than six, but in most cases L will have a totaldenticity of six. Thus, L will be three bidentate ligands, twotridentate ligands, a mixture of a bidentate and a quadridentate ligand,a hexadentate ligand or a mixture of a polydentate ligand withmonodentate ligands, as long as the combination has a total denticity ofsix. As has heretofore been stated, it is preferred to use chelatingbidentate and tridentate ligands. In general, the ligands useful in thisinvention include alkyl and aryl amines and nitrogen heterocycles.Illustrative, but non-limiting examples of ligands useful in thecatalyst precursors of this invention are set forth below.

Monodentate ligands will include NH₃, as well as alkyl and aryl aminessuch as ethyl amine, dimethyl amines, pyridine, etc. Useful chelatingbidentate amine ligands are illustrated by ethylenediamine,2,2'-bipyridine, 1,10-phenylene bis(dimethyl-amine), o-phenylenediamine, tetramethylethylenediamine and propane-1,3 diamine. Similarly,useful chelating tridentate amine ligands are represented by terpyridineand diethylenetriamine while triethylenetetramine is illustrative of auseful chelating quadradentate amine ligand. Useful chelatingpentadentate ligands include tetraethylenepenetamine while sepulchrate(an octazacryptate) is illustrative of a suitable chelating hexadentateligand. However, as a practical matter it will be preferred to usechelating, polydentate alkyl amines for L. Illustrative, but notlimiting examples of alkyl amines that are useful in the catalystprecursor of this invention include ethylenediamine, diethylenetriamine,and tetraethylenetetramine. It is particularly preferred to usebidentate and tridentate alkyl amines such as ethylenediamine anddiethylenetriamine.

In general, the precursor salts useful for forming the catalysts of thisinvention and which are represented by the aforementioned formula when Mis not Cr, may be prepared by mixing an aqueous solution of ammoniummolybdate and/or tungstate with an aqueous solution of chelated promotermetal cation, for example, ML!²⁺ which, in the presence of excessmetallate ligand and/or chelated promoter metal cation, will result inthe formation of the precursor salt as a precipitate which is readilyrecovered. The chelating promoter cation is easily formed by, forexample, mixing an aqueous solution of one or more water solublepromoter metal salts with the ligand or mixture of ligands. The watersoluble salt may be any water soluble salt that is convenient to use.Non-limiting examples of such salts include halides, sulfates,perchlorates, acetates, nitrates, etc. Alternatively, an aqueoussolution of ammonium molybdate and/or tungstate may be mixed with theligand with the resulting solution mixed with an aqueous solution ofpromoter metal salt. The salt can also be added to the ligand anddissolved into the solution of molybdate and/or tungstate. It should beunderstood that the catalyst precursor preparation is not intended to belimited to aqueous media.

When the composition of the present invention contains chromium, twodifferent procedures can be used for the precursor preparation. In thefirst procedure, the chromium containing precursor is prepared by mixinga slurry of (i) a hydrated oxide of trivalent chromium Cr(OH)₃ •xH₂ O,with (ii) one or more of the promoter metal and ligand containingmetallate salts and, optionally, (iii) one or more metallate salts of Moand/or W containing the conjugate acid of one or more ligands, but nodivalent promoter metal. The metallate salt is then precipitated ontothe slurried particles of hydrated chromium oxide and the precursor isrecovered. The hydrated chromium oxide may be freshly precipitated froman aqueous solution of a trivalent chromium salt. Alternatively, thesource of hydrated chromic oxide may be a colloidal, aqueous suspensionof same. In one method of preparation the hydrated chromium oxide willbe precipitated from an aqueous solution of trivalent chromium salt bycontacting said salt solution with one or more basic amine chelatingagents.

In one embodiment, a water soluble trivalent chromium compound anddivalent metal salt are dissolved in water and hydrated chromium oxideis precipitated by addition of a ligand, L, or a mixture of ligands, L.This procedure produces a slurry or suspension of very fine particles ofa hydrated oxide of trivalent chromium in the aqueous phase, which alsocontains some free ligand L, and some of the conjugate acid of theligand L, L'. When the conjugate acid is a strong acid, that is, if theligand L is a weak base, then a quantity of ammonium hydroxide may beadded to precipitate the chromium. The water soluble chromium salt maybe any water soluble salt that is convenient to use such as halide,sulfate, nitrate, etc. Sufficient ligand L is added to form the watersoluble chelated promoter metal cations ML!²⁺. This suspension ofhydrated chromium oxide containing ML!²⁺ in solution is then mixed witha solution of the metallate prepared by dissolving ammonium metallate inan excess of the ligand or mixture of ligands. A small amount of watermay be added if desired. On mixing the slurry with the metallatesolution, an orange-red colored precipitate of the catalyst precursorforms which is recovered by filtration. This precipitate will be aprecursor of a composition of this invention. Any step of thispreparation may be done in the presence of a slurry of support material.If the chromia is present in sufficient amount, then the excess willserve as all or a portion of the support.

In another embodiment the metallate salts (ML)(Mo_(y) W_(1-y) O₄) and(L')(Mo_(y) W_(1-y) O₄) may be prepared separately and mixed separatelyor together with the hydrated chromium oxide slurry prepared asdescribed above. Again, this may be done in the presence of a slurry ofsupport material. If the chromia is present in sufficient amount, thenthe excess chromia will comprise all or a portion of the support.

The salts (L')(Mo_(y) W_(1-y) O₄) may generally be prepared bydissolving the ammonium metallate in excess of the ligand L. The salt isrecovered as a precipitate by addition of water or some other suitableantisolvent such as methanol or acetone. If desired, these salts may beformed in the presence of one or more precursor materials as well as inthe presence of one or more support materials. This procedure andprecursor have more fully been discussed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,622,128which is incorporated herein by reference.

The second way chromium-containing precursor compositions can beprepared is by mixing a solution of an appropriate metallate such asammonium molybdate and/or tungstate in a mixture of ligand(s) L andwater with an aqueous solution of the chelated promoter metal cation,containing trivalent chromium Cr_(1-z) MzLx!^(2n+), which results in theformation of the precursor compound as a precipitate which is readilyrecovered. The chelated, trivalent chromium containing cation is formedunder anhydrous conditions by dissolving a soluble salt of trivalentchromium, such as CrCl₃, in an appropriate ligand or ligand mixture atlow temperature (i.e., 0° C.). When this solution is warmed up toambient temperature, the chelating reaction occurs and the chelated saltprecipitates. The product can be filtered, washed with methanol anddried for subsequent use. The chelated divalent metal promoter cation iseasily formed by, for example, mixing an aqueous solution of one or morewater soluble promoter metal salts with the ligand. The water solublesalt may be any water soluble salt that is convenient to use such as ahalide, sulfate, perchlorate, acetate, nitrate, etc. While the chelatedsalts are generally water soluble, they can be precipitated from theiraqueous solutions by the addition of methanol, filtered and washed withmethanol, and dried. For example, solid Ni(en)₃ Cl₂ can be prepared byadding ethylenediamine (en) to an aqueous solution of NiCl₂ •6H₂ O,adding methanol to precipitate the chelate, washing with methanol anddrying.

The anhydrously prepared chelated chromium cation salt is dissolved inwater along with the chelated divalent promoter salt. The ammoniummetallate solution is mixed with this solution containing the chelatedpromoters, resulting in the precipitation of the catalyst precursor.This procedure and precursor are more fully discussed in U.S. Pat. No.4,831,002 which is incorporated herein by reference.

The difference in the method of preparing the chelated chromium promotercation from the chelated divalent metal promoter cations is the factthat chromium chelation is slow compared to that of the divalent ions.As a result, the addition of the basic ligand to an aqueous chromiumsalt solution will result in the formation predominantly of hydratedchromium oxide instead of the chelate (CrL)Cl₃. To avoid this hydratedoxide formation, the chromium chelation is carried out under anhydrousconditions by adding the trivalent chromium salt to the dry ligand. Onecan prepare the divalent promoter metal chelates in the same manner,either separately or along with the trivalent chromium chelates.

The catalysts of the invention may be used in bulk or supported on asuitable support, preferably supported on a suitable inorganicrefractory oxide support such as alumina. The catalysts can be supportedby techniques known to those skilled in the art, such as, impregnation,incipient wetness, and the like. The choice being left to the individualpractitioner.

The catalysts of the present invention may be used for aromaticshydrogenation reactions. The principal operating variables aretemperature, hydrogen partial pressure, treat gas rate and spacevelocity.

Typical ranges of process variables are 300°-800° F., 100-3,000 psigpressure (689.5 to 20,684.3 kPa), hydrogen, 300-3000 scf/bbl; LHSV0.5-8.0.

In another aspect of the invention, the instant catalysts are utilizedin a stacked bed system. The instant cobalt molybdenum catalysts areplaced downstream of the instant nickel molybdenum catalysts. Such asystem provides an activity synergism. The catalysts in such aconfiguration interact in a non-linear manner yielding a greateractivity than the sum of the activities of each catalyst. In the stackedbed system, the catalyst with the higher activity is placed downstream.Activities are readily determinable by one skilled in the art.

The invention will be further understood by reference to the followingnonlimiting examples.

The following activity tests were conducted in an automated fixed bedunit consisting of two independent upflow reactors in a common sandbath. Each reactor was equipped with a calibrated feed burette, a pump,a gas-liquid separator, and a product liquid collector. The reactor wasmade of a 3/8-inch ID 316 stainless steel pipe. The reactor pressure,temperature and hydrogen flow rate were all controlled by a computer.The catalyst particles were crushed and sized to 20-40 mesh granules toensure adequate particle to reactor diameter ratios in the activitytests. Each reactor was packed with 10 cc of catalyst in the centralzone and inert materials in the fore and aft zones. The attainment ofisothermal conditions was indicated by temperature measurement acrossthe bed with four equally spaced thermalcouples.

The feed contains 7.2 wt. % 2-methylnaphthalene, with the balance beinghexadecane. The reaction conditions were 3.15 MPa, 1.0 LHSV, 1000SCF/BBL, and 240°-260° C. The liquid products were quantified on aHewlett Packard (HP) gas chromatograph. The hydrogenation proceeds asfollows:

    m-N→m-T→m-D

where m-N, m-T, and m-D denotes methylnaphthalene, methyltetralines, andmethyldecalines, respectively.

Prior to use, the precursor compounds were thermally decomposed toremove the organic constituents in flowing N₂. This is followed byreduction in hydrogen at elevated temperatures (300°-450° C.).

EXAMPLE 1

This example shows the criticality of preactivating the catalysts withH₂ at an elevated temperature. The comparative experiments were donewith bulk NiMo oxide prepared from nickel tris (ethylenediamine)molybdate. In one experiment, the catalyst was charged to the reactorimmediately after the thermal decomposition in nitrogen and run with themethylnaphthalene feed at 240° C. In another experiment, the catalystwas H₂ -treated in situ at 375° C. for 3 hours before being put onstream. The raw data are summarized in Table 1.

                  TABLE 1                                                         ______________________________________                                        Effect of In Situ H.sub.2 Treatment: Bulk NiMo Oxide                                          Composition of                                                                Reaction Products, wt %                                       Catalyst    Temp., °C.                                                                       m-N       m-T  m-D                                      ______________________________________                                        without H.sub.2 treatment                                                                 240       7.0       0.25 0.0                                      with H.sub.2 treatment                                                                    240       2.0       4.6  0.42                                     with H.sub.2 treatment                                                                    260       0.2       6.0  1.0                                      ______________________________________                                    

As can be seen, reduction with H₂ resulted in a substantial increase inactivity. At 260° C., although the conversion of methylnaphthalene isnearly complete, the primary reaction product is m-tetralins.

EXAMPLE 2

Here we show the criticality of metal composition. The followingcatalyst compositions, all of which were prepared from metal aminemolybdates which were reduced with H₂, were evaluated: NiMo, CoMo, andNi.sub..5 Mn.sub..5 Mo. As Table 2 shows, the CoMo catalyst exhibits byfar the highest activity. It produced a significantly higher amount ofmethyldecalins than the other two catalysts even at a lower temperature.

                  TABLE 2                                                         ______________________________________                                        Effect of Metal Composition                                                   Catalyst Metal                                                                         Temperature                                                                             Composition of Reaction Products, wt %                     Compositions                                                                           °C.                                                                              m-N       m-T     m-D                                      ______________________________________                                        Ni.sub..5 Mn.sub..5 Mo                                                                 260       0.0       6.8     0.4                                      NiMo     260       0.2       6.0     1.0                                      CoMo     240       0.0       2.3     5.1                                      ______________________________________                                    

EXAMPLE 3

This example demonstrates that a stacked bed--with a particular stackingorder--can give rise to an activity synergism. Two experimental runswere made. In one case, the CoMo catalyst was placed upstream of theNiMo catalyst (stacked bed A). In another case, the stacking order wasreversed (stacked bed B). In both runs, each of the constituentcatalysts in the stacked bed occupies 50% of the bed volume. The resultsare summarized in Table 3.

                  TABLE 3                                                         ______________________________________                                        Hydrogenation in Stacked Bed                                                  Temperature   Composition of Reaction Products, wt %                          Stacked Bed                                                                           °C.                                                                              m-N        m-T     m-D                                      ______________________________________                                        A       240       0.0        6.3     1.0                                              260       0.0        5.8     1.4                                      B       240       0.0        4.0     3.3                                              260       0.0        3.2     4.2                                      ______________________________________                                    

Evidently, the stacking order has a strong effect on the overallperformance of the stacked bed, indicating that the two constituentcatalysts interact with each other in a nonlinear manner. The preferredconfiguration is to put NiMo (the less active catalyst) upstream of CoMo(the more active catalyst). With this configuration, the overallactivity is greater than would be predicted from a weighted sum of theactivities of the constituent catalysts.

What is claimed is:
 1. A catalyst composition prepared by(a)decomposing, in the absence of sulfur, a catalyst precursor selectedfrom the group consisting of metal amine molybdates, metal aminetungstates and mixtures thereof, wherein said metal amine catalystprecursor has the general formula

    ML(Mo.sub.y W.sub.1-y O.sub.4)a

where M is Cr and/or one or more divalent promoter metals selected fromthe group consisting of Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Cu and Zn; L is one or moreneutral nitrogen containing ligands at least one of which is a chelatingpolydentate ligand; 0≦y≦1; and a=1 for non-chromium containing catalystsand wherein 0.5≦a≦3 for chromium containing catalysts, at a temperatureof about 200° to about 400° C. in an inert atmosphere; and (b) reducingat a temperature of about 300° to about 450° C. said metal aminecatalyst precursor to form a catalyst.
 2. A catalyst compositionaccording to claim 1 wherein said metal amine molybdate is selected fromthe group consisting of Co, Ni, Mn and mixtures thereof.
 3. An aromaticshydrogenation process comprising contacting a catalyst prepared by(a)decomposing, in the absence of sulfur, a catalyst precursor selectedfrom the group consisting of metal amine molybdates, metal aminetungstates and mixtures thereof, wherein said metal amine catalystprecursor has the general formula

    ML(Mo.sub.y W.sub.1-y O.sub.4)a

where M is Cr and/or one or more divalent promoter metals selected fromthe group consisting of Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Cu and Zn; L is one or moreneutral nitrogen containing ligands at least one of which is a chelatingpolydentate ligand; 0≦y≦1; and a=1 for non-chromium containing catalystsand wherein 0.5≦a≦3 for chromium containing catalysts, at a temperatureof about 200° to about 400° C. in an inert atmosphere; and (b) reducingat a temperature of about 300° to about 450° C. said metal aminecatalyst precursor to form a catalyst with a hydrocarbon feedstreamunder aromatics hydrogenation process conditions.
 4. An aromaticshydrogenation process comprising contacting a hydrocarbon feedstreamunder aromatics hydrogenation conditions with a stacked bed catalystsystem comprising a first and a second catalyst wherein said first andsaid second catalysts are prepared by:(a) decomposing, in the absence ofsulfur, a catalyst precursor selected from the group consisting of metalamine molybdates, metal amine tungstates and mixtures thereof, whereinsaid metal amine catalyst precursor has the general formula

    ML(Mo.sub.y W.sub.1-y O.sub.4)a

where M is Cr and/or one or more divalent promoter metals selected fromthe group consisting of Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Cu and Zn; L is one or moreneutral nitrogen containing ligands at least one of which is a chelatingpolydentate ligand; 0≦y≦1; and a=1 for non-chromium containing catalystsand wherein 0.5≦a≦3 for chromium containing catalysts, at a temperatureof about 200° to about 400° C. in an inert atmosphere; and (b) reducingat a temperature of about 300° to about 450° C. said metal aminecatalyst precursor to form a catalyst, and wherein said catalyst havingthe greater activity is said second catalyst.